NYS celebrates first potato harvest at Rietfontein

In keeping with its sustainability focus, the National Youth Service (NYS) is celebrating the first harvest of potatoes and sweet potatoes at its production centre in Rietfontein in the Otjozondjupa Region, marking a significant achievement for the organisation since its inception.

The potato harvest not only highlights the service's strong commitment to diversifying crop production for the sustainability of its operations, but also contributes to the government's objective of achieving food security and enhancing nutrition by 2030.

The production, which covers a combined one hectare total area under a centre pivot irrigation system, was implemented with the support of the Namibia Training Authority's (NTA) agriculture technology grant, which was awarded to the NYS in 2022 for the production of vegetables on a 3.5-hectare plot of land at Rietfontein. The purpose of the grant was to enable the NYS to generate revenue to further fund its programmes.

Most of the yield from the planned 25 tonnes will be distributed to various retailers across the country, with a smaller portion going towards the feeding of trainees.